20170107

PLASTIC SURGERY

In February 1972 at an international conference in Miami, Dr. Hans G. Bruck from Vienna, who since 1952 had performed over 5,000 rhinoplastics, or nose jobs, told the plastic surgeons attended, "At the time that John F. Kennedy was President, young girls used to come to see me with photographs of Jackie Kennedy and they would say, 'Could you make me a nose like this? I want my nose to look like hers.'

"If you looked at things objectively, Jackie Kennedy was a striking woman but never a beautiful one and her nose was never really good. All those girls didn't want Jackie Kennedy's nose at all – they wanted to be the wife of John F. Americans like to conform much more than Europeans. Europeans don’t want to lose their individuality. They want the nose (at the time) from the House of Windsor, like Princess Anne or Queen Elizabeth.

"My foreign patients, who come from northwest Europe, from Scandinavia and England, think this nose has character. The American nose is a small, slightly turned-up nose on the short side. Obviously the great majority of American girls seem to like it, though this is not true for Europe. In Austria, one of our very good plastic surgeons practically ruined a practice because she had a 'standard nose.' People quickly got fed up with it."

In 1968, Jackie caused a "widespread sense of shock and disappointment" in Europe when she married Ari Onassis on a "storm-swept" Sunday afternoon on the Greek island of Scorpios. Shocked because the Roman Catholic Jackie broke the canon law which, according to priest-lawyers in Rome who had interpreted the Vatican's definition, when a baptized person (Ari was a baptized Greek Orthodox) married, it would be a marriage for life or until the death of his spouse.

Ari and Tina Livanos only agreed to divorce which took place in Alabama in 1960. As a result, the Catholic Church considered Ari still under contract of a valid marriage to Tina and Jackie could only marry Ari if he had an annulment.
For Catholic courts, grounds for annulment were said to be strictly limited with the most common grounds granted being one or both partners did not intend the contract as permanent marriage or intended to have no children. Ari and Tina had two children - Alexander and Christina.

By marrying Ari, Jackie risked the penalty of excommunication. At the time of her wedding to Ari, Jackie was the most famous woman in the world, "perhaps the most famous woman in history since Cleopatra." The Athens newspaper 'Ethnos' reported in 1968 the Greek Orthodox ecumenical patriarchate Athinagoras of Constantinople (Istanbul) had issued the marriage license with the Vatican for the Roman Catholic Church also recognizing the marriage.

The rt. Rev. Msgr. Fausto Vallaine, however, denied to the press there was an accord between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Vatican about the wedding of Jackie and Ari, arguing, "It is certain the patriarchate came into prior contact with the headquarters of the Catholic Church – the Vatican – and received the assurance of its agreement for approval of the wedding of Mr Onassis and the formerly Catholic Mrs Kennedy." It was understood Jackie and Ari would meet the patriarchate Athinagoras of Constantinople in Turkey after the wedding to receive his blessing.

By 1979, plastic surgeon Dr. Gerald Imber told Patricia McCormack of 'United Press International', "In just a few years, the percentage of men among patients seeking plastic surgery has gone from 10% to well in excess of 30%. Young men today (in 1979) are much more conscious of their appearance than were young men of yesteryear. I think it is part of the 'self' revolution. The same for the older men. There's no more being ashamed of saying 'I'm interested in myself.' Today most men are coming in just to please themselves. It's part of the me generation, the 'cult of the self.'"

It was reported the most popular operations at the time for men were hair transplants, nose and eye fixes, jowel reductions and chin tightenings. The Top 3 operations for women were breast augmentation (cost at the time around $250,000 a year), face lifts which would last at least 8 to 10 years and eye fixes which would usually last and did not require to be done again.

Dr. Ralph L. Dicker of the New York Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Group told the press during the New York Couture Business Council's spring fashion previews in January 1972, "A chin strap may help to prevent the skin from sagging at too early an age. Facials are designed to lubricate the skin so that dryness disappears. Massaging can help tone muscles. But excessive use of facial muscles will cause drooping of the skin – a problem common with actors. Don't overuse the face."

Dr. Victor Royce Syracuse added, "I say nix to any apparatus for exercising the facial muscles. There is such a thing as overusing the muscles of expression." Of the complete face lift to remove crow's feet around the eyes, sagging skin in the region of the upper lip, cheeks and neck, Dr. Syracuse disclosed, "The skin ages at different stages with different people. Some people abuse the skin by too much exposure to the sun. This influences aging. You should look in the mirror at the age of 35 and you will be the best judge of whether you should consider a face lift. The procedure takes 4 days in the hospital. The last suture generally is removed on the 10th day after the patient is home."

Dr. Ralph L. Dicker said a face lift should last "between 5 and 10 years. But the time depends on individual aging factors and exposures to elements. It is best to keep the face out of the sun. The lasting effects of facial surgery also are affected by the age at which the operation is done – generally the younger it is done the longer it will last. Using a great deal of facial expressions also will age the face faster."

In 1972, the average cost of a face lift was around $2,500. However it was mentioned the price varied based on the experience of the surgeon and geographical area. For example, if a woman in those days wanted only to have the bags and wrinkles removed from the upper and lower lids she could expect to pay from $600 to $700 for the procedure. At the time, Dr. Syracuse stressed, "The use of silicones is not officially allowed by the U.S. government. While the procedure is being done, it is only on a very limited scale and under the strictest supervision. I would not inject silicone for any reason whatsoever."

By November 1976, Dr. Douglas Lake had performed about 5,000 plastic operations, of which 70% were nose and eyelid jobs. Dr. Lake told 'The Morning News Wilmington, Delaware', "We can correct one or two defects but you can't start out with an ugly face, bad skin, bad teeth and a bad personality. A pretty nose will not do much to improve an ugly face. Some people have negative attitudes about themselves. They don’t like what they see. Some feel they can change their destiny by changing their appearance. Their self image is not necessarily related to reality. Those are people with faces full of wrinkles who lead happy and secure lives."

In Brazil it was reported 12,000 operations were performed each year since 1969. Dr. Pedro Valente told Associated Press, "Right now (in June 1973), 20% of the people undergoing surgery here (in Rio De Janeiro) to make them look younger are men. A decade ago (in 1963) it was 5%." Elaine Handler reported, "Plastic surgeons say they can slow a man's apparent ageing in Rio with a standard face lift (including the eyes, price $2,500-$3,000; without the eyes, price $1000 less) and touchups every 10 years afterward." The cost of a slimmer abdomen was around $2,500 in 1972 and for around $2,000, the plastic surgeons could perform a man's flabby chest.

Surgeons told the press a face lift was more harder for men than for women because women had longer hair to hide the scars. In those days, the operation could last about 2 hours and in New York would cost about $5000. For men, depending on age, a good face lift could last about 7 to 10 years. At the time, the operation men most commonly requested was the removal of baggy eyelids and crow's feet (price roughly $750).

Dr. Dieran Goulian was the director of plastic surgery at New York Hospital in 1972 told the press, "A few years ago (in the late '60s), only effeminate men thought to have very narcistic needs came in for face lifts. Most of our male patients were artists and models. But now (by August 1972), normal, business executive types are asking for the operation." Dr. Eugene Courtiss was the secretary of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery made the point, "While it's still more common to see women asking for cosmetic surgery, men now (in 1972) comprise about 15 to 20% of our patients."